Q. What broad technology trends do you think will be front-and-centre at IBC2008?

There are three areas I believe will be the emerging trends at IBC2008:

There will be further movement toward broader content distribution models such as IPTV, Mobile, Internet, Gaming, Out-of-home-signage, etc.

Even if launch plans vary across Europe, the design and building of digital infrastructures and systems capable of HD in 1080p and 5.1 audio is centre stage with many broadcasters.

Asset management and integration of asset management systems to other mission-critical systems such as automation are essential solutions for broadcasters looking to repurpose assets across multiple platforms.

Q. What’s new that you will show at IBC2008 and that broadcasters should look for there?

What we can say at this early stage is that Harris will showcase a range of new technologies from across our broad range of HD solutions at IBC2008. For instance, we will for the first time at IBC showcase our new family of multi-viewers. With the integration of Zandar Technologies, we now have the broadest multi-image display processor portfolio in the industry.

At the NAB Show, we showed new developments in several specific product categories as part of the drive towards the 3Gbps infrastructure. Our NEXIO server platform was included in this, and at IBC2008, we will showcase several new features for this platform. The new G7 3D Inscriber Graphics platform was also launched at the NAB Show and will be centre stage at IBC. Finally, following great anticipation, a number of new products in our portfolio of transmitter systems for digital radio, television and mobile will be showcased for the first time at IBC2008.

Harris will also demonstrate its strength in “partnering” with customers to offer system architecture that covers a wide spectrum of products and services from the Harris portfolio, as well as those of third-party suppliers. The Harris knowledge base strengthens our ability to deliver great projects in partnership with our dealer and system integrator representatives, and this is something we’re going to be telling our customers more about at IBC2008.

Q. How is your new product offering different from what’s available on the market?

The latest generation of transmission technology applied to multi-standard or multi-format television, radio and mobile broadcasting.

Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Fla., the company has annual revenue of more than $5 billion and 16,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Our European Broadcast Communications headquarters are in Winnersh, Berkshire, UK, with offices and operations in Paris, Munich, Milan, Budapest and Dubai. Additional EMEA office locations are to be announced soon.

Our strategy for the EMEA market is to drive more resources to be closer to the customer — with greater focus placed on the local regional organisation. We are continuing to invest in regional offices to address individual market needs such as sales, service and support. In the Middle East, for instance, we have an office in Dubai Media City that incorporates all these functions and enables customers in the region to work with Arabic-speaking engineers — which is vital.

Q. How many years have you been going to the IBC show and what’s your fondest memory?

My first IBC was in 1985 in Brighton, and I’ve been to every one since then, so it’s a very tough call to identify a favourite show or best venue. At the end of the day, trade shows are all about doing business, so the best IBC conventions for me were always associated with announcements about major deals. I’ve been lucky enough to have been part of a few of those over those years.

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